Flotspotting: "Interactive Modular Set" by Ceramist Larisa Daiga

We were so impressed with the three stories' worth of work—set in a repurposed school, no less—at Paradise that simply couldn't cover all of the excellent work that the RCA presented at the Salone this year... which is why we were glad to come across ceramist Larisa Daiga's "Interactive Modular Set" on the new Coroflot:This modular tableware set provides pieces for the user to reach their potential for full self-expression and imagination, prompting the individual to create their ideal world for eating or entertaining. Made of an earthenware clay body, the outside surface is sprayed with a coloured ceramic slip that provides a smooth matte finish. This also allows the individual to write or draw on the outside of the dish with chalk, each piece providing a blank canvas of creativity and customisation. It is up to the individual to decide what they want to create. Then erase, reconfigure, and start again.

Simple yet undeniably beautiful; eyecatching and entirely functional. I'm not sure whether smudged chalkdust would be an issue but it's nice to have the option, and it's a charmingly anachronistic alternative to the ever-ubiquitous touchscreen.

Daiga had explored her interest in design in both two dimensions and three prior to pursuing a Master's degree in London, at the Ceramics Department of the Royal College of Art. After she completed her BA in Industrial Design at Purdue, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a graphic designer for the better part of the past decade. She notes that "It took me awhile to appreciate how useful my interdisciplinary background has been to develop and execute my ideas. And that I really enjoy sharing these varied skills with others. Simply put, I like to make things."

While the modular series was exhibited in April of this year, the work was created during her first year at RCA. Daiga's more recent work expresses a "fascinating hybridization of ceramics and moving image." Check out more of her work on her personal website.

Ray is a contributor to Core77. Aside from design, his interests include art, music, cycling, urbanism, food, patterns, maps, coffee and em-dashes—seriously, he includes at least one in every post he writes.

Great idea, but if you're going to make it easy for people to write labels, you might as well go the whole nine yards and include lids, so these dishes can double as jars or be useable as casserole trays. Just a thought. It is a lovely set of ceramics, though.

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